Predecorated gypsum wallboard is packaged by placing two 4-foot-wide and about 8- to 12-foot-long, 5/16-inch- to 5/8-inch-thick boards together, face-to-face, and affixing the two boards together using protective edge tape. The protective edge tape extends the full length of the boards at the two edges and is wide enough to be adhered to about a 2-inch-wide area of the back face of each board. The protective edge tape is not adhered to the edge surfaces of the boards.
When a consumer is ready to use the wallboards, the unadhered center portion of the protective edge tape is torn away and disposed of. The wallboards are then, one at a time, affixed to wall framing members, using an adhesive which is first placed on the studs followed by placing the wallboard against the adhesive on the stud.